The Paris-Orly Airport has faced serious turmoil in its operations lately due to a failure in air traffic control systems. France’s civil aviation authority, DGAC, has set a bold directive. Most ambitiously, they demand a 40% cut in flights out of the only airport—the only one!—that conducts both domestic and international routes. This decision is made all the more surprising given the technical issues as of late that have occurred, affecting millions of travelers.
Last year, Paris-Orly Airport served more than 33 million passengers, and it is an important hub of air transport in France. Although it primarily handles domestic flights, it connects travelers to numerous international destinations across Europe and beyond, including the United States. Most impressively of all, the airport handled roughly only half the passenger traffic as its much bigger sister, Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle.
Because of the developing situation, many flights planned on Sunday were already canceled. Destinations impacted include popular routes to Spain, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Ireland.
The DGAC has said repeatedly that it is committed to resolve the conflict and return things to normal.
“We are fully mobilized to restore normal operations as soon as possible.” – DGAC
The cascading failure throughout air traffic control systems has had a domino effect across all other airlines flying out of Paris-Orly. Passengers have been advised to check with their respective airlines for updates on their flight statuses and potential rescheduling options.
That suspension of flights will remain in place until the technical issues at cause are completely sorted out. The airport is essential to maintaining France’s position as the number one European country for foreign visitors and most geographically diverse international connections. This unforeseen disruption is a risk to passengers and an operational burden for airlines.
